Somewhere in the Between
by zi-ling
Summary: Riku must give his memories in a desperate bid to save Sora, but what happens as he slowly forgets who he's searching for? A story of friendship, love, loss, and the memories that bind. New:Riku receives relationship advice from a prince. Fate is for saps
1. Prologue: The Deal

Author's Note: Welcome to my new story, and it should be an interesting one! I don't believe this should be classified as AU, as it takes place after the games, though if you disagree, please tell me. I kind of got the idea from what Riku might do to get back someone important to him (not Tsubasa Chronicle-he's searching for a person, not feathers-I didn't think of the similarities till after I had written the prologue.) This collection is gonna have a little bit of everything hopefully-tragedy, angst, adventure, humor, and a little romance, though it's not going to be blatantly obvious. This is an experiment on the use of drabbles and oneshots to tell a story. It may not follow a particular timeline, but it will flow. Most of the chapters will probably be short- I'm looking at character developement and interaction rather than an epic plot. However, it should be interesting, and if you have time, reviews are always appreciated. There will be absolutely no character bashing, critiques are welcome, and flames will be ignored.

The title of this is based on a Streetlight Manifesto song "Somewhere in the Between" awesome band

Standard Disclaimer (applies to all chapters): Don't own, never will, but darn awesome game

**Somewhere in the Between**

ziling

Prologue: The Deal

The halls of the Underworld are silent but for the pad of his booted feet on the darkened stone. He hates that this is where the souls of the dead come for their final rest. This is a place of solemnity and darkness, a place where hopes are crushed and dreams have died with the body. _He_ is light and life personified, too quick and full of such tangible energy that, even if he were dead, the dark caverns would echo with the sounds of his laughter ringing against the cold corridors. This place, with its three-headed slobbering dogs and eerily glowing rivers of death, could never be enough to contain _him_.

The memory of that bright smile sends warmth through Riku's chill body. It dogs him, driving him faster onward, to find the master of this literal hell.

He's a bit farther into the caverns when he feels a presence suddenly flare behind him, almost overwhelming in its sheer magnitude. He whirls about, Way to Dawn instantly appearing in his hand, to face this sudden threat.

Hades, sharpened teeth bared in an insufferable grin, raises a placating hand which, being blue and clawed, happens to not be reassuring at all. "Whoah there, kid. Put that thing away before you poke somebody's eye out. Probably yours, seeing as I'm a god and all, and well, you just can't kill me."

Riku lowers the Keyblade but does not send it away, instead remaining guarded. He's heard the stories of the person before him, and, for the sheer fact that it is a god, should therefore not be trusted. Not that he looks trustworthy at all, with those yellow eyes watching the teen with a calculating coldness only ever seen on the face belonging to Riku's darkest memories. There is a reason those have remained buried and unturned for so long.

"So, what brings a runt like you down here?" Hades' voice is as oily as the smoke that curls around him. Riku fights the urge to bat the twining tendrils away as they snake their way up his own body. "Aren't you supposed to be cavorting with your little spiky haired friend and his menagerie?"

Riku's eyes narrow, and his grip on Way to Dawn tightens. The god obviously is deriving a perverse amount of pleasure from testing the limits of the teen's patience, if his widening grin is anything to judge by.

"What was the kid's name again? Annoying little bugger, waving that key thing around. Shorty? Sky? Sam? Sarah? Sorry? Sor-"

Riku snaps, and shoves his Keyblade against the throat of the god. "Where is he?" he snarls, green eyes flashing in the gloom. He doesn't even have time to blink before the god vanishes, only to reappear in another wave of crawling, oily smoke behind Riku. The teen flinches as cool, putrid wind rolls across his face.

"Ah, ah, ah. Shoving pointy things at me won't get you anywhere. And it especially won't get you what you're looking for. I own your little friend now, after all."

Riku is stricken at that, and makes no attempt to pull himself together. It takes a few tries to speak, because it feels as though his heart has crashed through his stomach, shattering into a thousand million pieces, and his tongue has suddenly become too thick for his mouth to let air through, let alone to make a sound.

"Wh-what?" He tries to swallow, but his mind too syrupy to think and his throat too dry to form words. "He's h-here?"

Hades shrugs, flipping his hand in a casual manner, though those cold, cold eyes still gaze unwaveringly at the paralyzed teen. "Maybe."

And suddenly, Riku is filled with fire, an anger so blazing that it burns away all traces of previous haze. Everything is now grief-tinged clarity, and nothing will stop him until he gets his answers.

Way to Dawn flashes in his hand as he steps forward, and even the god's insufferable smirk dims a bit at the utter controlled rage flashing in the warrior's eyes.

"Hey, calm down kid. I said I maybe have him, and maybe's all I got."

The advancing Keyblade wielder stopped short, though he did not lower the blade. "Maybe?" he spat, "How the hell can you only _maybe_ have him?"

Hades disappears once more, only to reappear right in front of Riku's face. There is no grin on his face now, only thin lips and piercing eyes. "Like I said. Maybe. I got the kid all right. But it's not the whole thing. It's not even half of his soul. It's just a little bit, like the rest got broken off and sent somewhere else."

Riku knows that he shouldn't allow himself to hope, and honestly, he's rather stunned by the revelation. But, if only a part of the soul was here, then that meant….

That the rest was somewhere else. Somewhere not here. _He_ could still be….

There's no time to think, because he knows he'll lose this chance if he waits much longer. His mouth takes over, and before his mind can even register it, he's gazing back into those dead eyes. "Give him to me."

"And why," the god asked slowly, his voice devoid of inflection, "would I want to do that? I hate the little shorty."

"You like making deals, right? Or so I've heard." Seeing nothing flicker across the face before him, Riku licks his lips nervously before continuing. "Then make one with me. Give me the portion of his soul you do have, and I'll give you something in return."

Satisfaction replaces the previous disinterest. "Well, well, well. Interesting proposition. And what do you have that's worth it?"

"My life."

"Not interested." The god hadn't even given the suggestion a thought before outright rejecting it.

Riku is taken a bit aback. What is worth more than life to the god of death? His fingers tighten once more on the Keyblade, and he looks down at it.

"Way to Dawn, then."

"No." The tone is flat, but that smirk is beginning to creep upon that pale, pointed face once more.

"Then what? They are all I have!"

"Not all." Hades slithers closer, the smoke twining around the desperate human like a living thing. "To come all the way down here only to kill yourself, you must care for the kid an awful lot. A whole lot."

"What do you want then?" Riku whispers.

The god lifts a hand, and in a whirl of black, a polished stone on a chain sits upon his palm. It sits almost unremarkable in size and cut, but for the fact that it seems to draw in all light around it. He holds it up for Riku's inspection.

"Your memories of him."

"What?"

"I want what you cherish most," the god hisses. "That happens to be him. So I'll take the memories you have of him. Every time you think of him, they'll be taken from your mind and stored in here for me to collect later."

"But-"

"But nothing. Your memories for his life. A fair price, don't you think?" Hades shrugs again. "Sure, you won't remember him, but you'll still have your precious feelings. And remember, you'll get him. Or at least part of him."

Is it fair? How can Hades ask this of him? Of all the things he has, Riku's memories are the only certainty that he will ever have in his desperate search. If he loses those, what will he have left?

But then again, what is the memory of a smile when the real one is more brilliant and warm than sun would ever be?

"Agreed. But I want his soul now." He is so very proud that his voice did not show how he is slowly shattering, piece by piece.

The god only raises an eyebrow. "Nuh-uh. Seal the deal first by putting it on." He dangles the chain in front of the teen, as if tempting an animal forward.

Riku's hand hesitates slightly over the stone. It feels so empty. Like…nothingness. He is loathe to let such a thing come into contact with his skin, but he has all ready made his choice.

Surprisingly enough, the only thing unusual feeling about it is it's unusually cool and smooth exterior. Otherwise, it feels the same as any other trinket. When he puts it on, it rests heavily against his chest before he tucks it beneath his shirt, chain and all. There is not even a lump under the cloth to signal where the stone lies. When that is done, he looks towards the waiting god.

"Well?"

The god seems scarily like a satisfied predator. "Look to your left."

At first, Riku doesn't see anything, and he wonders if the god has gone back on his word. It is not unheard of for Hades to trick a mortal, after all. It is then he sees the small, pale flicker in front of him, and would have wondered if it had been a trick of the light if there had been light in the Underworld.

It seems like such a frail, feeble thing, the opposite of what its true soul is in life, as though a small wind will cause it to dissipate. But there seems something so very familiar about it, and something in his heart responds. He takes one tentative step towards it, then another, until he is close enough to touch it if he wants.

His voice is low and rough when he speaks. "You can come here, you know. I promise, I'll keep you safe, until we find the rest of you."

The wisp quivers there for a moment, before it surrounds him like a mist and sinks inside.

Riku had expected it to be cold, like a chill fog, but it is so warm and comforting in a way that he has not felt for so long. He sobs to himself and sinks to his knees, Way to Dawn clanging to the ground beside him, as he is cradled in that aching familiarity. There is some pain as well, his heart almost not big enough for the both of them. But it will be worth it, if it will bring Riku to him.

_Sora_.


	2. Being a Man

**Author's Note:** Thanks to PsychoB for reviewing!! Always appreciated!! If things seem a little disconnected, it's because they are. These are Riku's experiences and memories as he travels- as long as he has them, of course.

sorry for those of you on alert- I was just editing some of this chapter

**Somewhere in the Between**

ziling

**Being a Man  
**

_The twilight was warm but not stifling, not with the ocean breeze brushing through the long, silver strands of his hair. The island was silent at this time, as if mimicking the slow, subtle change of day into night. The setting sun caused the palm trees and the wooden structures of the play forts to cast long shadows on the beach where he lay, and the gentle lapping of waves against sand pounded out a gentle lullaby._

_The slap of a paddle meeting the water broke the tranquility of the scene, and Riku propped himself up upon his arms to watch the small canoe glide across the surface of the ocean before coming to a rest on the beach. The occupant scrambled out and dragged it the rest of the way out of the water, reaching for something in the boat once he had secured it on the sand. When he finally approached the boy still lounging on the beach, a slight scowl broke out on his normally smiling face._

"_You know, you could have helped me instead of being lazy over here," Sora complained as he plopped himself next to Riku in an inelegant sprawl._

_The older boy only raised one silver eyebrow. "You're the one that came late. I feel completely entitled to laziness since I've all ready been here for half an hour."_

_Sora flipped over to face his friend, blue eyes twinkling in the twilight and a quirky, mischievous grin replacing the previous scowl. "Yeah, well, it took me a little to get out of the house with this." He scrabbled to open the bundle he had brought with him before triumphantly holding his prize towards his friend. Riku sat all of the way up as he grabbed the large brown bottle from his friend. _

"_And people say I'm the bad influence," the silver haired teen snorted as he read the label of the bottle in the dimming light. Whiskey; cheap, but still strong enough. "How did you manage to get this anyway?"_

_Sora placed his hands behind his messy brown hair in an all too familiar gesture. "I all ready said that's why I'm late. The restaurant was busy tonight, and Mom was behind the bar till a little while ago." His grin was far wider than normal. "I thought that since it would only be the two of us tonight, we could see what all the fuss is about."_

_Riku gave his friend's scrawny, awkward, thirteen-year old body a very obvious once over. "Because you're so close to being a man, Sora." He raised his forearms to shield his eyes as a handful of sand was slung his way. _

"_Riku you jerk, take that back!" Laughter was the younger boy's only response. He huffed indignantly, arms crossed and eyes flashing with the weight of a challenge. "Fine. If you think you're so _manly, _then prove it._

_Riku stopped laughing, and his own green eyes narrowed in response. "I can easily out drink you. You're so small, you'll probably get drunk after a couple sips."_

_Sora, without hesitating, tore off the foil lining neck of the bottle and swiftly flung the cap away. He spluttered and gasped as his fist swig of the liquor burned its way down his throat to his belly._

"_Give that to me. You're wasting it all." The older boy grabbed the bottle, but Sora still hung on gamely, peering defiantly into Riku's face._

"_Think you can do better?" he gasped._

"_Watch me."_

_&&&&&&&&&&_

_The burning of the sun on his bare stomach, the uncomfortable poking of an oar in the middle of his back, and the roar of some horrid monster woke him. His head throbbed as though Wakka and Tidus had used it for blitzball practice, and memories of last night were hazy at best. Opening his eyes, he saw only darkness until he realized that, somehow, his shirt had been flipped off his chest and over his head. Groaning as he moved, he managed to tug it back down, and winced as the brightness of the morning sun hit him with full force._

_During the course of their drunken escape, they had both ended up in Sora's too small canoe. The other boy was still dead to the world, slumped against one side and legs dangling over the other. His mouth was open, and the sounds coming out of it were loud enough that they probably heard it on the other island. Hmmm. So, not a monster, after all. Riku had no clue how somebody so small could make such a sound._

_Riku groaned again and shut his eyes as his stomach also decided to rebel against him, matching the blitzball game currently being played in his head.._

_And they hadn't even finished the bottle of whiskey, either. He was never drinking. Ever. Again._

"Drink up, lad!" Riku watches as the obviously deranged pirate shoves a pint of what can only be rum in front of him.

Riku gives the man his flattest stare. Jack doesn't seem to notice, involved as he is in his own drink. It takes a brave person to withstand this gaze. Or a very inebriated one.

"I don't drink." He shoves the pint away, splashing some of the vile liquid over the edges of the cup with his rough movement.

"Nonsense! It's _rum_. Rum solves all evils." The pirate looks absolutely baffled, as if he can't comprehend the fact that someone would willingly turn down a drink. A free one at that.

"It can't solve evils if it is one," Riku protests against the pirate's logic.

Jack stares at the boy hard, as if contemplating his worth. Those eyes, which had a moment ago been fogged over in a drunken haze, were suddenly clear and focused, the cunning behind them as sharp as the sword Will carries strapped to his waist. Ignoring Elizabeth's protests of "_Oh leave him be, Jack Sparrow,"_ the pirate leans closer, until the silver haired boy can smell the reek of days worth of alcohol and other things better left unmentioned upon his breath. Those black eyes never lose their steel.

"You don't happen to be a…" he makes a little gesture. Riku can only wonder how the hell a man like this ever became a venerable pirate captain.

"A what?"

"One of them."

"One of them _who?_" He's starting to become impatient with this man and his too knowing eyes.

The man pauses, stroking his beaded beard and looking down at Riku's lap before continuing in a loud whisper that no doubt everyone hears, "…a eunuch."

There's silence for a moment.

"Oh for God's sake, Jack. I'm not a bloody eunuch, and neither is the boy." Will looks more weary than anything, as if this is a conversation that has long overstayed its welcome. If it was ever welcome in the first place.

"No, he isn't. I can most _definitely_ attest to this fact." Elizabeth gives a satisfied little smirk as the three men only stare at her in various states of amusement and shock.

Riku fumbles for his previously spurned drink. The rum is starting to not look so bad, after all.

&&&&&&&&&

When he wakes, the pounding of his head sounds suspiciously like someone's uproarious snores. He turns to the side, not quite sure what he expects to see. For a moment, he is cramped in the bottom of a tiny canoe, the small body slumped next to him making the most outrageous noises. In the next instant, the image is gone, and he's once again in an unfamiliar room above the tavern. Though he's rumpled, dirty, and reeks of rum, someone, probably Elizabeth, was at least considerate enough to remove his boots before they tossed him into bed.

The stone is a cool, heavy weight on his chest. He's beginning to learn that, even though the memories hurt, it's even more painful to not remember at all.


	3. Maiden Voyage

**AN:** Thanks for putting up with a little wait! I've been in Beijing for the past year, so I don't always have much time. I'm going to update at least once a week, though! Many thanks to those who reviewed-always appreciated! _YourConscience813-_I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, rum solves all evils....kinda. _ PsychoB-_you managed to hit it on the nose. kudos. the real question is, what is riku gonna do then?

**Somewhere in the Between**

ziling

**Maiden Voyage**

"_What do you think is out there?"_

_The three of them had been occupying their usual spots on the papou tree, Kairi and Sora sitting on its curved neck with Riku leaning against the trunk. Kairi had woken them at an ungodly hour to watch the sunrise, a smile playing about her face and her blue eyes dancing with anticipation as she dragged her two unwilling friends out to the play-island. Admittedly, they were a rather amusing sight. Riku knew he couldn't have looked much more presentable, with his long silver hair left lank and uncombed. Kairi was far too perky and awake for such a time, but then again, the morning excursion had been her idea. Sora hadn't quite woken up yet, judging by the continuous yawns and half-closed eyes. Even his wild array of spiky brown hair drooped considerably with the weight of the early morning. The boy had seemed to be nodding off, until he had made his offhanded remark._

"_More ocean," Riku replied in a monotone, crossing his arms over his chest. Sora made a face at him as Kairi giggled._

"_We all ready know _that_. But what about what's past what we can see." The younger boy gazed out at the sea and the slowly rising sun in front of him, as if strength of will alone would be enough to make something unexpected suddenly appear. "Maybe there're new worlds waiting for us, just beyond the horizon. I mean, there's got to be more than just these islands."_

"_New worlds," Kairi's soft voice murmured, as she also became entangled in Sora's fantasies. "What do you think we'll find on them?"_

"_Pirates!" The boy replied without a moment's hesitation._

"_Princesses," she sighed dreamily. When no reply came from their oldest friend, two pairs of blue eyes looked at him expectantly. Riku raised an eyebrow back._

"_Well?" Sora dragged out the word, ending on a high note._

_Riku gave a slight huff of irritation, leaning further against the tree. "Moogles."_

_Sora blinked. "That didn't start with a 'p', Riku."_

_He couldn't help it; he let loose a laugh, clutching his stomach as his body shook with mirth. Trust Sora to focus on the inane aspect of something when none of them had any idea of what a 'moogle' actually was. Kairi soon followed his example, her laughter ringing as clear and bright as the dawn. Their somewhat confused friend just sat there for a moment, running a hand through his mass of hair and looking thoroughly perplexed._

_When Riku finally calmed down, he straightened up again and looked out to the sea. It surrounded the islands in every direction, unhindered by any other obstacles. In something so vast, there certainly had to be other worlds out there, just waiting to be explored._

"_You're right though, Sora. There's gotta be something else out there than just us. I want to leave this place, leave and explore what else is out there. I'm gonna do it one day; just take a boat and go wherever it takes me."_

"_And we'll come with you-oof!" In his excitement, Sora had knocked himself over the side of the tree, his flailing arms bringing Kairi down with him. The girl let out a small shriek, which was swiftly stifled by a gasp as they both hit the ground on their backs. Riku pulled himself up and over the papou tree, landing next to Sora before moving to pull Kairi up. The girl had had the wind knocked out of her, but otherwise seemed to be fine. He supported her until she regained her breath, then cuffed Sora over the head._

"_Ow! What was that for, Riku?"_

"_For being such a bone-head," the older boy snorted. "I swear, if your head wasn't attached to your neck, it'd be long gone by now."_

"_Well at least I got something in there, unlike your pretty head."_

"_Yeah. A lot of hot air."_

"_Maybe I'll leave them behind," Kairi mused as the trade of insults degenerated into an awkward mess of limbs, bodies, and rolling about on the ground. She sighed as their fight took them over the edge of the small island, a splash swiftly followed by two loud yelps telling her where exactly they had ended up._

"_Boys."_

It isn't the voyage he had imagined taking.

The ship, though enormous, is weather-worn and battle-aged, as though it had been a survivor in a long and devastating war- and hadn't been triumphant. Though an attempt has been made to patch and clean, no amount of determination is able to hide the virulent marks scarring the surface of the ship. It is a far cry from a lovingly made log raft. Though the vessel had been small, with only one sail and no actual sides, it had been carefully crafted, each piece of wood meticulously chosen and tightly lashed together. It had been filled with dreams, expectations, and the promise of adventure; a heady, rousing scent for three young would-be explorers.

For some reason, the Black Pearl gives off the faint but distinct odor of rotting corpses.

The crew is as mismatched as the ship, an assortment of thieves, scoundrels, mutes, midgets, former-blacksmiths, runaway governors' daughters, and Jack Sparrow, who really deserves a warning unto himself. A crew of three was small, but the excitement that had driven them forward had been enough to fuel an armada. The world had been before them, and no stone would have been left unturned.

"Have you ever sailed upon the sea before?" A women's soft contralto breaks his concentration as Elizabeth leans upon the rail near him. She really is a stunning woman, but from her wind tangled hair, sun-darkened skin, and determined set of her jaw, it is a beauty that far more suits the life she has chosen rather than the life to which she was born.

"No," he replies, turning back to the sea. A slight headache still plagues him; a remnant of his last bout with Jack and rum.

They are silent for a moment.

"When I was younger, the ocean was always my dream. I sailed upon it once, when I was coming to live in Port Royale, but I wanted to see more." She rests her head upon her hands, and her smile a touch dry. "I was always so sick of being the governor's daughter, that when the opportunity to just be Elizabeth literally took me hostage, I took the chance."

"Have you ever looked back?"

"Never," she replies, her eyes straying to the side where Jack seems to be once more spinning a circle of words about a certain flustered former-blacksmith-cum-pirate. She turns to the silver haired boy next to her. "What is your dream, then?"

"I don't know," murmurs Riku as he continues to gaze out at the horizon, wondering why the vast expanse of ocean seems so very empty all of the sudden.


	4. Happily Ever After

**Author's Note:** Next one up! Thanks to Crescent Riku and Cielshadow17 for reviewing. It's always nice to know an author's work is appreciated, and it honestly made me update a bit quicker.:-)

On another note, I drew art! It's nothing much- I'm not an artist, just a habitually bored doodler, but it was inspired by LoquitorLatinae's fantastic story, Oathkeeper's Dawn. The link is on my profile page (which got a facelift!-it now contains lyrics to the song which this story gets its name from) so go check it out if you can

**Somewhere in the Between**

ziling

**Happily Ever After**

_Everything on the island seemed to glisten with a brilliance that had previously gone unnoticed. How ironic that it took the darkest night eclipsing his soul for Riku to finally realize how radiant the light of the sun truly was._

_He really shouldn't have been contemplating that at the moment, though. Not with Sora about to kill himself trying to climb the paopu tree._

"_Maybe you should come down from there," Kairi called from her place next to Riku, eyes shaded against the sun as she watched Sora determinedly try to commit suicide. The silver-haired teen snorted softly, but moved so as to be underneath the other boy if the worst did happen. Sora was actually doing fairly well, though, climbing with such dexterity that Riku wouldn't have been surprised to hear that the Keyblade Master had done so before. With Sora, one could never just assume._

"_I'm almost there. Don't worry so much, Kairi." One could practically see the fierce look of concentration that must have been pasted on the teen's face, brows furrowed and tongue poking slightly between his teeth as he made his way towards the last paopu fruit on the tree._

_Riku trusted Sora's abilities explicitly- after all, the boy was the legendary Keyblade Master. He had fought the darkness spanning worlds to once again free them of what evil lurked within, with only a duck and a dog at his side. Even though he was young, he was unmatched._

_Except for the fact that off of the battle field, the guy was a walking disaster._

"_Shit!" The word tumbled out of his mouth as Sora made a last swipe at the dangling paopu fruit, which predictably caused him to lose his all ready precarious grip. Riku didn't have time to think before the other boy came hurtling downwards. Though Sora was not, and would never be, big, he was still all lithe muscle, the force of which sent both teens crashing to the ground._

"_Are you two all right?" Kairi came racing over, landing on her knees next to the pile of moaning flesh. Twin groans of agony met her concern._

"_I will be once someone gets his chubby self off of me."_

"_You're totally fatter than I am."_

_Kairi shook her fall of red hair, smiling sweetly in relief. "Well, I know you guys are definitely okay if you're all ready arguing." She extended a slim hand to Sora, who accepted with a somewhat rueful grin. _

_When the two boys pulled apart, there was a slight squish and a feeling of wetness. Riku could only guess at what was smeared all across his front._

"_Riku, you're my best friend and all," Sora said slowly, blue eyes unusually solemn as he stared down at the other, "But no matter how much I like you guys and want our destinies to be intertwined and stuff, I'm gonna have to draw the line at licking paopu fruit from off your stomach."_

_

* * *

  
_

"So, you want to find your true love," Riku says, his voice as bland as day old bread. The dark-haired man standing in front of him gives a regal nod of confirmation, the medals and other shiny bobbles pinned to the immaculate white uniform clanging softly with the movement. Riku looks down at the object he's holding in his hands.

"And you have a shoe." Another nod.

"You want to find you true love using a _shoe_." The guy is handsome, Riku has to admit, especially if you tend towards the prince-charming types. Which Riku doesn't, for the very reason that there doesn't seem to be anything of much importance occurring behind those strikingly attractive but slightly vacant eyes.

"Yes, of course," the man replies, gesturing imperiously for Riku to return the shoe. The prince, for he can be nothing but while wearing all the gleaming trappings of royalty, cradles the glass slipper as it if is the most precious thing in the world. Considering the measures he is taking in order to find one girl, it probably is.

"And just how do you plan to do that?" The question seems to brighten the prince, and his entire countenance seems to gain a dream-like quality to it.

"Last night, the woman I love suddenly left the Royal Ball, the only trace of her being this glass slipper. By having every eligible maiden in the kingdom try it on, I will be sure to find her."

Riku feels a headache beginning. He resists the urge to run his hands through the long, silver strands of his hair in frustration. "Are you serious? You saw the girl only once and you suddenly love her? You don't even know what she looks like if you're using a _shoe_ to find her! Besides that, do you know how many women of marrying age there probably are in this country? Even if you go around and ask every single one of them to try on that damn slipper, there's got to be more than one who has the same shoe size. You're never going to find her that way."

"You seem to have quite a bit of doubt for someone so young."

Riku feels that that is a rather unjust thing to say. He's eighteen now, and the prince cannot be that much older. "It's not doubt if it's true."

"I know that I will find her because it was fate that brought us together that night. It was fate that left her glass slipper upon the palace steps for me to find." He feels the prince's eyes upon him, filled with an achingly familiar sense of conviction and determination that causes the stone resting upon his chest to burn coldly. "Fate works in mysterious ways, ways that we know naught of. Fate intertwines our destinies together. That is why I knew I loved her at first sight, and why I know that I will find her once again."

Riku just stares. The prince has to be a complete sap, and he says just that.

After all, how can destinies be intertwined because of such a simple reason? Only _fools_ and _children_ would put so much faith in something like that. In nothing but a fairytale.

"I still can't believe you expect to find her using a shoe."


End file.
